A Life's Music - Softcover

When I describe Andrei Makine as a great writer, this is no journalistic exaggeration but my wholly sincere estimate of a man of prodigious gifts. In his combination of clarity, concision, tenderness and elegiac lyricism, he is the heir to Ivan Bunin, the first Russian ever to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. (Francis King, Spectator)

Makine here is as good as Stendhal - or Tolstoy ... [he is] storyteller, teacher, and enchanter most of all. I would rather read him than anyone else now writing, and then reread him. I think this is his best book so far. (Allan Massie, Literary Review)

Makine's novellas are short in length but beautifully paced and filled with a lyricism that weaves reality and fantasy into a far bigger picture. Little wonder, then, that he's frequently likened to other Russian greats such as Nabokov and Chekhov ... an engrossing story of love, tragedy, betrayal and loss. Moving the plot forward effortlessly, he creates a mythic portrait of Communist Russia. (Scotsman)

Beautifully paced and filled with a lyricism that weaves reality and fantasy into a far bigger picture ... engrossing (Scotsman)

Geoffrey Strachan's strong and graceful translation of a novel written in French manages to let its Russian soul shine through. "A Life's Music" exchanges the lushness of Makine's earlier work ... for the fiercer pleasures of concise storytelling. This is Makine's art (Ann Harleman, New York Times)

A Life's Music would make a terrific Tom Hanks movie. The tagline could be lifted straight from the book's jacket. A tale of war, heartbreak and survival. Both powerful and graceful, it has...depth and scope. (Scotland On Sunday)

With matchless delicacy and economy ... Makine presents a movingly detailed history of survival, adaption and bitter disillusionment ... perfectly conceived and controlled. Its graceful narrative skilfully blends summarized action with powerfully evocative images charged with strong understated emotion ... masterly (Kirkus Reviews)

[An] elegant, heart-rending little gem of a work ... entirely fresh and necessary. Highly recommended. (Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal (New York))

A Life's Music again proves Makine to be a very fine craftman. (Times Play)

Makine makes fresh images that are also profound and poignant, and this gives his portrait of a life derailed by history an irresistible authority. (Sam Thompson, Times Literary Supplement)

A magnificent story of courage and survival in the face of great adversity